Update: Some are suggesting that the patent could simply be for tiny shifts that would allow the iPhone camera to fill in missing detail that falls between pixels, though it’s unclear how this would differ from a technique already in use by Hasselblad. Thanks to James for the Hasselblad link.
iPhones have long allowed you to create panoramic images by taking multiple photos which the camera stitches together. But an Apple patent granted today could allow future iPhones to take panoramic photos effectively with a single shot. Apple describes this as ‘super resolution mode.’
The reality would be that the iPhone would still take multiple photos to switch together, but the process would be automated so the user experience would be taking just one shot …
The mechanism is very clever.
An electronic image sensor captures a reference optical sample through an optical path. Thereafter, an optical image stabilization (OIS) processor to adjusts the optical path to the electronic image sensor by a known amount. A second optical sample is then captured along the adjusted optical path, such that the second optical sample is offset from the first optical sample by no more than a sub-pixel offset. The OIS processor may reiterate this process to capture a plurality of optical samples at a plurality of offsets. The optical samples may be combined to create a super-resolution image.
What optical image stabilization does at present is to shift the image on the sensor in response to shaky hand movements. This patent describes using the same motors to deliberately shift the image to the right or left, take multiple photos on a single shutter press and then stitch them together into a panorama.
An illustration suggests that you’d switch on this feature in a similar way to turning on HDR today. (The actual image is very outdated as the patent application was made back in 2012.)
We of course include our usual disclaimer that Apple implements only a handful of the inventions it patents.
Via Patently Apple
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This is really cool. Would love to see this feature.
Hopefully be ready for the iPhone 7
cool idea but don’t you lose the image stabilization if you do this?
You rather have to take fotos very fast or stabilize while the motor shifts the image around
Effectively it would be doing the same job, just with an offset
Huh?
Sounds like a cool feature. This combined w/ live photos could be really cool. Seems hard to believe it could gather the same information with the camera held in one place as it could by turning your body 180 degrees. Maybe we’ll see…
the reality would be that the iPhone would still take multiple photos to switch together,…. I think it should have been STICHED!
“the reality would be that the iPhone would still take multiple photos to switch together”
I know that it should have been “stitched!”
Hey that’s a pic of Vancouver 🇨🇦! :)
It is indeed – one of my favourite places.
I would guess that is from Lonsdale Quay
Yep! From the little viewing platform.
Where does the patent or the source says something about one-shot panoramic picture???
It seems to me that there is one objective of the patent = take higher “super resolution” pictures.
This can be used in panoramic mode to make better pictures. But not “one-shot” ones.
Author, where is the missing link?
That appears to be the USP of the patent, otherwise it’s no different to what we can do today.
Hi Ben,
douseks is right, this patent isn’t at all aiming for a panoramic feature. This method of super-resolution is a well known image processing technics to enhance the resolution of an image, usually using very small movement like hand shake. The aim of this patent is only to increase the resolution of the image. For example using a 8MegaPixels sensor, you get a 20MegaPixels pictures.
You can read more about super-resolution here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-resolution_imaging
What’s your theory on why Apple chose to illustrate the patent with a Panorama button?
I think that part of the illustration isn’t supposed to depict a button but rather the descriptive “pan your iPhone in this direction and keep the arrow on the line”-overlay that might (or might not) be present.
I don’t think it’s supposed to indicate that this technology would only but may be used in panorama mode
Hmm. Looks very much like a button to me.